We made it everyone. 4100 miles in total and 30 days total from November 15-December 14. Bad weather followed us pretty much the whole way, making some of our travel plans very difficult or impossible. I ended up losing my laptop charger and had no laptop to edit photos, check emails or do anything with the last 3 weeks. We still had fun and got a lot of footage of the tour, but I always like to edit as I go instead of having to go through a month worth of stuff when I get home. Either way, I'll be in my office for a while
1st two nights in Taos we stayed at the Rio Grande Overlook Rest Area. Beautiful spot right out of town. It was 17 degrees both nights, but the van did great with the minimal insulation we have and the Portable Buddy in the morning. I would highly recommend the rest area if you are passing through Taos area. It was really clean, heated restrooms, lots of dirt and gravel spots to sleep at and it has immediate access to the Rio Grande hiking and fishing trails.
From there we played in Cimarron at the St James hotel. This was one of the highlights of the whole trip. Super cool, old haunted hotel with tons of Wild West history/memorabilia. Afterwards, we headed south to ABQ to play our show and then headed out to Cosmic Campground from there. It wasn't a clear night, unfortunately, so I didn't get a chance for starry van photos. It was still a beautiful spot.
After Cosmic Campground we stayed in Gila Forest for 2 days and explored before making our way to Tucson. We ended up staying in a random BLM spot right outside of town. After our show in Tucson we made our way to Phoenix to stay with family for Thanksgiving. One of my dad's neighbors has since purchased and built an e-350 (I'm assuming) after seeing ours last year. If you know who it belongs to let me know so I can confirm my suspicions.
After AZ we had a week in CA along the coast. At this point, I was pretty much over taking photos/videos and sleeping in the cold. So when we got to CA I just focused on the nice weather and taking advantage of the beach. We left the coast on Friday and headed back East to Joshua Tree. The venue ended up getting us a hotel that night so another night of warmth and no photos.
After Joshua Tree we went through Flagstaff and then out through the 4 corners. We followed along the 160 the whole way playing in Cortez, Mancos and Salida. Ended tour in Manitou Springs.
The van did great the whole trip. It drove through a blizzard, high winds, downpours, mud, washed out creek beds and an AZ flashflood. It kept us warm and dry in cold, snowy conditions. I have a great understanding now of what we need and what we don't.